Railway Operation Rescheduling System via Dynamic Simulation and Reinforcement Learning

TL;DR

This paper introduces an automatic railway scheduling system that uses reinforcement learning and dynamic simulation to quickly generate optimized traffic schedules in response to disruptions and social changes.

Contribution

It presents a novel integration of reinforcement learning with a dynamic simulator for real-time railway operation rescheduling.

Findings

System can generate optimized schedules within a few minutes.

The approach effectively adapts to disruption scenarios.

Rapid scheduling supports better railway operation management.

Abstract

The number of railway service disruptions has been increasing owing to intensification of natural disasters. In addition, abrupt changes in social situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic require railway companies to modify the traffic schedule frequently. Therefore, automatic support for optimal scheduling is anticipated. In this study, an automatic railway scheduling system is presented. The system leverages reinforcement learning and a dynamic simulator that can simulate the railway traffic and passenger flow of a whole line. The proposed system enables rapid generation of the traffic schedule of a whole line because the optimization process is conducted in advance as the training. The system is evaluated using an interruption scenario, and the results demonstrate that the system can generate optimized schedules of the whole line in a few minutes.